Several publications and patent documents are cited throughout the specification in order to describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. Each of these citations is incorporated herein by reference as though set forth in full.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common progressive neurodegenerative disease clinically characterized by resting tremor, muscle rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability (Dauer et al. (2003) Neuron 39:889-909). PD is sporadic and of unknown cause although host genetics, environmental cues, aging, impaired energy metabolism and oxidative stress are linked to disease onset and progression (Klockgether, T. (2004) Cell Tissue Res., 318:115-120). Pathologically, PD is characterized by degeneration of dopaminergic cell bodies in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and their associated caudate projections (Dauer et al. (2003) Neuron 39:889-909). Nonetheless, the pathological hallmark of PD is cytoplasmic inclusions of fibrillar, misfolded proteins called Lewy bodies composed principally of α-synuclein (α-Syn) (Spillantini et al. (1997) Nature, 388: 839-840).
α-Syn is a 140-amino acid (aa), natively unfolded, soluble protein that is localized in the pre-synaptic terminals of neurons of the central nervous system (CNS), where it interacts with and may regulate synaptic vesicles (Spillantini et al. (1997) Nature 388: 839-840; Sidhu et al. (2004) FASEB J., 18:637-647; Paxinou et al. (2001) J. Neurosci., 21:8053-8061; Weinreb et al. (1996) Biochemistry 35:13709-13715; Eliezer et al. (2001) J. Mol. Biol., 307:1061-1073; Uversky et al. (2000) Proteins 41:415-427). Three missense mutations (A53T, A30P and E46K) in the gene encoding α-Syn are linked to dominantly inherited PD (Kruger et al. (1998) Nat. Genet., 18:106-108; Polymeropoulos, et al. (1997) Science, 276:2045-2047; Zarranz et al. (2004) Ann. Neurol., 55:164-173). Moreover, multiplication of the wild-type (WT) gene has also been linked to PD, suggesting that the level of α-Syn is an important pathogenic factor (Chartier-Harlin et al. (2004) Lancet 364:1167-1169; Singleton et al. (2003) Science 302:841). Such familial cases are rare and in sporadic PD, there is no genetic aberration of α-Syn. However, it has been proposed that post-translational modifications such as nitration enhances WT α-Syn propensity to aggregate (Hodara et al. (2004) J. Biol. Chem., 279:47746-47753; Uversky et al. (2001) J. Biol. Chem., 276:10737-10744; Uversky et al. (2005) Brain Res. Mol. Brain Res., 134:84-102; Yamin et al. (2003) FEBS Lett., 542:147-152). Oxidized and aggregated α-Syn, when released from dying neurons, may stimulate scavenger receptors on microglia resulting in their sustained activation and dopaminergic neurodegeneration (Wersinger et al. (2006) Curr. Med. Chem., 13: 591-602; Zhang et al. (2005) FASEB J., 19:533-542; Croisier et al. (2005) J. Neuroinflammation 2:14). Moreover, activated microglia generate nitric oxide and superoxide that rapidly react to form peroxynitrite which can then traverse cell membranes resulting in 3-nitrotyrosine (NT) formation, DNA damage, mitochondrial inhibition, or lipid peroxidation (Dringen, R. (2005) Antioxid. Redox. Signal 7:1223-1233; Ischiropoulos, et al. (2003) J. Clin. Invest., 111:163-169).